Introduction

In addition to the enduring challenges faced by Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S., the years of the global COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated hate and violence against them, gravely endangering their safety and well-being, particularly for those who are more vulnerable. These heightened adversities urgently demand solidarity within and among diverse groups in U.S. society.[1] This paper aims to (1) introduce the Korean cultural emotional concept of jeong (情) and its characteristics; (2) conduct a critical dialogue with the Biblical concept of kindness shown in the Parable of the Good Samaritan; (3) define their nature and relationship; and (4) thereby explore the potential, complementary way to use those concepts in creating a caring culture, especially in the Korean immigrant and Korean American Christian contexts.양식의 맨 위 The comparative examination of these two concepts is expected to illuminate how utilizing the cultural experience of feeling jeong towards others can help cultivate the religious/spiritual virtue of caring for others, particularly to counter xenophobic and racist cultural sentiments and discriminations faced not only by Koreans and Korean Americans but also by Americans of all Asian descent in the aftermath of Covid-19.

What is Jeong (情)?

Whenever I see immigrants who seem to be my parents’ age, and they’re doing dirty or hard work to make a living, my heart goes out to them. They look exactly like my parents.

During a pastoral visit, a Korean American female parishioner in her thirties, who immigrated to the U.S. with her parents during her childhood, unexpectedly shared the remark above when she spotted a janitor who appeared to be an Asian middle-aged woman cleaning the building. The parishioner’s statement came out of the blue, so I inquired further about what specific feature about the janitor reminded her of her parents.

My family [as immigrants] sought shelter from all the struggles, and our parents certainly did their best to shield their children and protect us from all hardship. However, it’s impossible to keep us in a protective bubble all the time. Therefore, we witnessed and experienced hardships together. We, as children, were witnesses to our parents’ struggles, whether they were due to racism, financial difficulties stemming from arriving in this country as strangers with little, or simply being far from their home country and feeling alone. Yet, amidst all these challenges, our parents dedicated their lives to us. I can see such dedication and isolation in that person [the janitor]. When I see them, I can’t help but think they could have been my parents. It’s like, does my jeong extend to that person? It’s like, 정이 간다고 해야 되나? [jeong-i gandago haeya doena?; my jeong goes to that person?]

Permeating the Korean culture shaped by the experiences of Koreans and individuals of Korean descent, jeong as a traditional Korean cultural emotional concept has been defined and redefined in different academic venues by scholars in Korea and North America. While those definitions share positive undertones, jeong does not have one clear-cut definition. Rather, it conveys different subtle nuances depending on the context and its object. For example, Korean pastoral theologian HeeSun Kim and pastoral theologian James N. Poling contend “Jeong has multiple faces” in defining jeong as love, affection, longtime attachment, or bonding.[2] Korean American theologian Anne Joh Wonhee elaborates, “Jeong encompasses but is not limited to notions of compassion, affection, solidarity, relationality, vulnerability, and forgiveness.”[3] Stressing that the phenomenon of jeong is “very ambiguous and amorphous” in Korean culture, Korean feminist theologian Jung Ja Joy Yu focuses on the dimension of caring in her conceptualization of jeong as an emotional affection towards others.[4] Even though each theologian’s definition of jeong is not identical, their understandings share the common idea that the cultural emotional construct holds positive meanings, such as affection, compassion, or bonding. As Joh acknowledges, the concept is predicated on human interaction and relationships with others: “Jeong… is rooted in relationality.”[5]

Jeong is mainly understood to be established between and among those who spend a certain amount of time together, going through good and bad events, which can be called shared experiences, like those of family, old friends, or neighbors. However, jeong can also be experienced by an encounter with a stranger.[6] While the expression 정을 쌓다 (jeong-eul ssat-da, to establish jeong) is usually used regarding a relationship like the former, 정이 가다 (jeong-i-ga-da, one’s jeong goes out to) or 정을 느끼다 (jeong-eul-neu-kki-da, feeling jeong toward others) can be interpreted as feeling close or having an affectionate favor or caring concern towards either those in a familiar relationship or an unknown person. For the sake of my argument, this paper focuses solely on this latter phenomenon of jeong, which is the case of feeling Jeong towards a stranger.

To grasp the meaning of the phenomenon of feeling jeong towards a newly met or barely known person, scholars offer several explanations. One explanation suggests that the shared trait is perceived as likability by the person experiencing the emotion towards the other person, while another explanation posits that, based on the shared traits, one assumes and empathizes with the stranger’s troubled or difficult times, which resemble one’s own struggles in the past or present.[7] In other words, when the unfamiliar person shares similar characteristics—such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, first language, or specific shared experiences—the individual feels a greater sense of closeness towards the counterpart than towards others who do not share these characteristics. For example, as a woman, or as an immigrant, one becomes more sensitive to notice or find out the adversity of another woman or immigrant. Jeong embodies the notion of hospitality in the encounter with a stranger whose similar struggle has captured one’s attention. Viewing jeong as hospitality extended towards others highlights one’s instinct to care based on the traits of the potential care recipient that have evoked empathy.[8]

Stickiness is one of the significant characteristics that scholars pay close attention to when depicting the ambiguous nature of Jeong. The stickiness of Jeong means that it “[fosters] ambiguous attitudes in interpersonal relationships.”[9] While the stickiness reveals the “communal interdependent” and “interconnected” nature of the relationship,[10] it may also violate its recipient’s boundary and right to privacy.[11] However, in traditional Korean culture, even jeong that intrudes is still more highly valued than having no jeong at all. This is because “[a]bsence of jeong… means indifference and isolation from others,”[12] which is condemned as selfish and irresponsible behavior towards both individuals and the community.

As the result, jeong has several limitations that may create confusion and conflict between and among individuals. Jeong is manifested based on the understanding that the counterpart shares similar characteristics, and thus can be considered Woori—meaning “we” in Korean.[13] Jeong influences people to regard similar persons more favorably, but it applies exclusively to people who belong to the category of we, thus resulting in the exclusion of those who are regarded as others. Also, as mentioned above, experiencing jeong can blur the boundary between two persons, can result in over-attachment, and inevitably lead to the invasion of one’s autonomy in life,[14] even if the jeong-driven behaviors are conducted solely for the sake of the beneficiary.

Kindness in the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Throughout Christian scripture, kindness is consistently promoted as one of the Christian virtues. Beyond the natural dimensions of an individual’s character to be affable to others, the passages about kindness in the Scripture encourage readers to dedicate themselves to actual benevolent and philanthropic behaviors towards others, especially to the vulnerable and the needy in society. Regarding our main goal to compare jeong and the Biblical concept of kindness, I hereby propose to scrutinize the parable of the Good Samaritan specifically, which is presented in the gospel of Luke 10:25-37. The passage depicts kindness as the manifestation of love towards one’s neighbors. German biblical and feminist scholar Luise Schottroff points out that the parable teaches people to express love through deeds, following the example of the Good Samaritan.[15]

In the beginning of the relevant passage, Jesus is defending himself from a challenge of a lawyer in a discussion about how to obtain eternal life (vv.25-26). Both Jesus and the lawyer reach the same conclusion: the observance of the two commandments, love your God and love your neighbor (vv.27-28). Then, we can see how their discussion continues with the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” (v.29). It is evidently answered in Jesus’ parable that when encountering a person robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the road, a Samaritan, who was traveling, kindly rescued and cared for the person in desperate need (vv.33-35), exemplifies a genuine neighbor. Despite the inconvenience and costs, he stopped, unlike a priest and a Levite who passed by the victim without helping (vv.31-32).

The implication of the parable has been widely discussed by biblical scholars. Many scholars stress that the passage delivers a clear message that the scope of neighbor is unlimited, and thus, every person is the object of that love for neighbor. For example, New Testament Scholar Luke Timothy Johnson argues that the parable provokes us to think not about “who deserves to be cared for, but rather the demand to become a person who treats everyone encountered—however frightening, alien, naked or defenseless—with compassion.”[16] Another New Testament scholar Arland J. Hultgren asserts that the parable tears down the categories of those who are our neighbors and who are not.[17] The answer of Jesus in the parable signifies that our responsibility to care for others is not limited to those who share the same markers such as religion or race/ethnicity. Namely, it is the command of unconditional kindness to our neighbors which ultimately encompasses all living things.

In addition, pastoral theologian Jeanne Stevenson Moessner offers another profound insight into reading the parable as a story about not shouldering all burdens but rather sharing the burdens of caring. Moessner identifies the Samaritan as an exemplary model of a “self-differentiated” caregiver, evidenced by the fact that “the Samaritan finished his journey” at the end.[18] In other words, the Samaritan did only what he could do—providing first aid to the person’s wounds—then brought the person to an inn that could take over the direct role of caring, allowing him to finish his journey (vv.34-35). The Samaritan did not sacrifice himself in practicing kindness beyond his ability and duty. His boundary remained clear and healthy when he did not feel forced to do more than he could; his compassionate, kind act as a neighbor embodies “God’s perfect love” within the clear boundary of “He loved himself, and he loved his neighbor.”[19]

Do Jeong and Kindness correlate, complement or contradict?

Introducing the concepts of jeong and kindness, which originate from different cultures, four findings are identified from the comparison between jeong and Biblical kindness. Firstly, both jeong and kindness are relational concepts. Each concept is based on the relations between or among individuals, which means it usually requires the existence of another individual for the phenomenon to occur. Regarding the relational nature of jeong, Joh states, “absence of Jeong implies the absence of relationship, and absence of relationship means complete indifference not only to the other but also to the self.”[20] In Korean culture, jeong is understood as what undergirds not only human relationships but also the existence of individuals and communities.[21] In Christian theology, the commandment of loving your neighbor necessitates actual deeds, in which humans do good to others, showing that the act of kindness as a fulfillment of love can be valid only when there is a recipient of the kindness. This implies that the pursuit of faith can be fulfilled through loving and kind relationships with others.

Secondly, jeong and kindness rely on different sources to build relationships with others. Jeong is driven by the other’s characteristics that are considered either favorable or pitiful, whereas Christian kindness is the outcome of one’s will to follow the religious/spiritual belief of practicing a loving relationship among God, others, and self through acts of random or deliberate, committed kindness. So, their implementation depends on different conditions; for jeong, it’s one’s perception of others in relation to themselves; with kindness, it’s one’s degree of faith that determines one’s actions within the triangular relationship involving God.

Thirdly, the relationships driven by each concept have different orientations. On the one hand, jeong is more likely to be expressed towards someone who is more likable—whether due to something favorable or pitiful—than towards someone less likable. Although exceptional phenomena or outcomes sometimes occur in long-term relationships driven by jeong, such as in cases where a wife, as a domestic victim, tolerates all the abusive behaviors of her perpetrator husband.[22] On the other hand, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, one is admonished to love even their enemy.[23] The unlikability is not avoided based on reason or intuition, but rather tolerated due to religious teaching and the determination to act on faith.

Fourthly, and as the most explicitly observed correlation, jeong and kindness share the same goal, which is to benefit others instead of oneself. What is different in their common intention is the issue of maintaining boundaries. Both motivate their experiencers to offer benevolent help to other people, especially to those who struggle, regardless of anticipated hassles and losses. However, while not in all relationships, the manifestation of the jeong-driven approach to help could sometimes be seen as either excessive self-sacrifice or excessive control—both are results of unclear boundaries.[24] It is uncertain how the virtue of kindness shown in the parable defines one’s boundary between self and other. However, in the light of the feminist analysis by Moessner presented above, the view of the Good Samaritan as a self-differentiated caregiver suggests the possible interpretation that the Christian concept of kindness can be sought without crossing the boundary between caregiver and care receiver.

Conclusion

In conclusion, drawing from the comparison of jeong and Christian kindness, I propose two approaches to leverage the cultural understanding of jeong in nurturing a compassionate, caring culture within the Korean immigrant community and the broader Korean American church context. This is especially pertinent in light of the heightened hate and violence against Asians and Asian Americans since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Alongside the reports of violence on all levels against AAPI, which have skyrocketed since the outbreak of Covid-19, the anti-Asian sociocultural and political rhetoric and discrimination have gravely impacted those of Asian descent.[25] Examining the otherization of Asians and Asian Americans through Orientalist representations such as “Yellow Peril” and “Model Minority” throughout the history of U.S. society and in the era of Covid-19, Korean American pastoral theologian Eunil David Cho proposes “counter-hegemonic” pedagogical, “politically-strategic,” and “multi-dimensional” discursive and practical approaches, with an awareness of “hybridity” existing within the group, to counter those images.[26] Acknowledging the danger of cultural appropriation, Asian American theologian Greer Anne Wenh-In Ng provides a discussion on how the cultural heritage and practices of the congregation can be integrated with various liturgical and theological resources within faith communities to achieve the goals of addressing anti-Asian hate and violence, as commonly recognized by Cho.[27]

To facilitate the implementation of their pastoral theological suggestions, I suggest that, first, the Korean immigrant church needs to make a proactive effort to acquaint themselves with and build relationships with the diverse cultures of others that are either part of the congregation or other racial/ethnic communities by recognizing the shared ground to feel jeong towards them. In either a single-ethnic congregation or a multi-ethnic congregation, diversity derived from age, gender, education, wealth, and sociocultural capital still exists.[28] What potentially binds those differences within the community, across generations, and among communities together could be a shared experience of struggles as minorities, which can facilitate the emotion of jeong towards others who are in similar situations, and eventually solidarity with them. This starts with discussions about the Covid-19 pandemic but extends throughout the history of oppression faced by various minority groups.[29] Given the exclusive nature of Korean immigrant churches,[30] interpreting the lived experiences of struggles of other racial/ethnic minority communities in the U.S. through the Korean cultural lens of jeong can help congregations raise awareness of the ties between and among and dormant seeds of solidarity.

Additionally, I argue that introducing dialogue between specific cultural concepts of jeong and similar religious concepts within the Korean immigrant church can help uncover the various sources of hospitality embedded within their own community, as well as within other ethnic faith communities. Acknowledging the cultural and emotional dimension of bonding with others in adversities, which aligns with Christian teachings of being kind to one another, can further inspire Korean and Korean American Christians to be more open and hospitable to other marginalized, oppressed, and otherized groups beyond their church community. These two concepts work differently: some immigrants may feel a sense of closeness to others due to shared hardships based on nationality, race/ethnicity, language, or gender (jeong-driven), while others may dedicate themselves to assisting immigrants because of God’s commandment to show kindness to the vulnerable (kindness-oriented). However, each approach can be simultaneously embraced to nurture a caring and embracing culture within the Korean ethnic church through reflections on both their own and others’ shared immigrant experiences across personal, cultural, religious, and spiritual dimensions. This intercultural dialogue can serve as a subversive, culturally resistant, and transformative means of recognizing that the wellbeing of Korean immigrant Christians within the prevailing U.S. sociocultural context cannot exist in isolation, but rather is intricately intertwined with that of other minority groups. This strongly resonates with how Joh concludes the implications of the jeong phenomenon: “it [sticky jeong] poses a threat in a culture that prioritizes individualism and division, while neglecting communal interdependence and the interconnectedness of all.[31]

Minhwan Song

Claremont Korean Methodist Church

[1] Eunil David Cho, “From the Yellow Peril to the Model Minority and Back Again: Unraveling the Orientalist Representations of Asian Americans in the Age of Covid-19,” Journal of Pastoral Theology 31, no. 2–3 (September 2, 2021): 175–92, https://doi.org/10.1080/10649867.2021.1929711; Greer Anne Wenh-In Ng, “Caring for People of Asian Descent in an Age of Anti-Asian Hate and Violence,” in Injustice and the Care of Souls: Taking Oppression Seriously in Pastoral Care, 2nd ed., ed. Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook and Karen B. Montagno (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2023), 168–82.

[2] James Newton Poling and HeeSun Kim, Korean Resources for Pastoral Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2012), 73-74.

[3] Wonhee Anne Joh, Heart of the Cross: A Postcolonial Christology (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), xvi.

[4] JungJa Joy Yu, Breaking the Glass Box: A Korean Woman’s Experiences of Conscientization and Spiritual Formation (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013), loc. 926-30/2418, Kindle.

[5] Joh, Heart of the Cross, 121.

[6] Kyung Mi Lee, “Jeong,” Yale Daily News, November 2, 2018, https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/11/02/jeong/.

[7] For further explanations, refer to Chapter 4 of Kyoohoon Oh, Chŏng Kwa Han’guk Kyohoe (Seoul: Changnohoe Sinhak Taehakkyo Ch’ulp’anbu, 2011); Lee, “Jeong.”

[8] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, loc. 901-991/2418; 1873-1956/2418.

[9] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, loc. 981/2418.

[10] Joh, Heart of the Cross, 122-23.

[11] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, loc. 964/2418.

[12] Poling and Kim, Korean Resources for Pastoral Theology, 73.

[13] Christopher K. Chung and Samson J. Cho, “Conceptualization of Jeong and Dynamics of Hwabyung,” Psychiatry Investigation 3, no. 1 (March 2006): 48-50.

[14] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, loc. 984/2418.

[15] Luise Schottroff, The Parables of Jesus (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006), 134.

[16] Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Luke, Sacra Pagina Series, v. 3 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), 175.

[17] Arland J. Hultgren, The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary, The Bible in Its World (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2004), 100.

[18] Jeanne Stevenson Moessner, “The Self-Differentiated Samaritan,” Images of Pastoral Care: Classic Readings, ed. Robert C. Dykstra (St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2005), 66.

[19] Moessner, “The Self-Differentiated Samaritan,” 66-67.

[20] Joh, Heart of the Cross, 123.

[21] Chung and Cho, “Conceptualization of Jeong and Dynamics of Hwabyung,” Psychiatry Investigation 3, no. 1 (March 2006): 47-50.

[22] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, 44.

[23] Brad H. Young, The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2004), 118.

[24] Yu, Breaking the Glass Box, loc. 964/2418.

[25] Pew Research Center, “Discrimination Experiences Shape Most Asian Americans’ Lives,” November 2023.

[26] Cho, “From the Yellow Peril,” 183-87.

[27] Wenh-In Ng, “Caring for People of Asian Descent,” 174-79.

[28] Cho, “From the Yellow Peril,” 186-87.

[29] Cho, “From the Yellow Peril,” 185-86.

[30] Girim Jung, “Towards a Radically Inclusive Korean American Church: Narratives of the Dechurched Millennials and Social Justice,” Berkeley Journal of Religion and Theology 6, no. 1 (2020): 67-70.

[31] Joh, Heart of the Cross, 121.

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